Analele ştiinţifice ale Universităţii Al. I. Cuza Iaşi Tomul LI, s. II a. Biologie vegetală, 2005 SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT DECLINE OF PRIMARY VEGETATION WITHIN MAMAIA-NĂVODARI SEA SHORE AREA AS A CONSEQUENCE OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES M. FĂGĂRAŞ Abstract: As result of our researches within Mamaia-Năvodari seacoast area, we have identified in the various coastal habitat types, 254 plant taxa and 38 plant communities. Among all identified species and subspecies, the percentage of littoral taxa is 66,41%. The difference (33,58%) represents ruderal, segetal and heat plants, consider by us invasive species. The high rate of these invasive plants in the studied area, higher than in other northern sea shore areas (Cape-Midia, Chituc sandbank) is a consequence of anthropic influences increase, especially because extension of economical activities (building works, touristic arrangement) until in proximity of dune habitats. The human activities which are generating offals, have favoured between Mamaia and Năvodari, the excessive development of weeds and ruderal plants communities, on the background of psamohalophilous primary vegetation decline. Key words: natural vegetation, Mamaia-Năvodari sea shore area, littoral species, invasive species, typical coastal habitats, plant communities, anthropic factors. Introduction The rave effects of littoral ecosistems perturbation are visible now, when numerous littoral plant species, quoted forty-fifty years ago, had dissapeard from the southern Black Sea shore or are having a limited spreading area. The human activities from the beaches proximity, had determined also, the decline or destruction of some littoral specific plant communities and the excessive development of some weeds and ruderal plant associations. A such situation can be observed in the sea coast area between Mamaia and Năvodari, at about 10 km north from Constanţa city. In this zone, the natural vegetation of sandy beaches is grave affected by the extension of some building works until the dune habitats area. In the paper, we attempt to call atention about the decline of natural vegetation within sea shore area between Mamaia and Năvodari and also about the danger of destruction of some coastal habitat types with European interest for conservation. Material and methods The floristical list has been achieved on the base of our periodical observations within the last seven years, on the seacoast between Mamaia and Năvodari. The littoral species (beach plants and some steppe plants) within floristical list have been separate by those ruderal, segetal Ovidius University Constanţa, Natural and Agricultural Sciences Faculty 123
and heat plants and their percentages was compared with those within other seacoast areas (Cape Midia-Vadu and Chituc sandbank). In the littoral species category has been included those species which grow in usually condition on the maritime sands. The name of the taxa has been taking from Ciocârlan [2] and Flora Europaea [14, 15]. The coenotaxonomic units uses in the paper, were established according to Sanda et al. [9, 10]. Results and discussions As a results of our researches, we have identified 254 taxa, from which 241 species and 13 subspecies. The littoral taxa (beach plants and some steppe species), which have a majority (66,41%) grow, in the frame of some plant communities, on the mobile or fixed dunes, on the salty sandy soils and on the moist or swampy sands from dune valleys, in the neighbourhood of Mamaia lake. The rest of taxa (33,59%), represent the ruderal, segetal and heat plants. These invasive plant categories grow in the seacoast area (dry or moist places, rich in nitrate and nitrite), especially as a consequence of anthropic factors. The following plants taxa have been identified in the researched area (the ruderal, segetal and heat species are bolded): Achillea setacea, Aegilops cylindrica, Agrostis gigantea ssp. maeotica, Agrostis stolonifera, Althaea officinalis, Alyssum alyssoides, A. hirsutum, A. desertorum, Amaranthus retroflexus, Anthriscus scandicina, Apera spica-venti ssp. maritima, Artemisia absinthium, A. austriaca, A. santonica ssp. monogyna, A. tschernieviana, A. vulgaris, Arctium lappa, Arenaria serpyllifolia, Argusia sibirica, Aster tripolium ssp. pannonicus, Asperugo procumbens, Atriplex tatarica, A. sagittata, A. oblongifolia, A. rosea, A. prostrata, Ballota nigra, Bassia hirsuta, B. laniflora, B. prostrata, B. scoparia, Berteroa incana, Bromus hordeaceus, B. sterilis, B. squarrosus, B. tectorum, Calystegia sepium, Calamagrostis epigeios, Calepina iregularis, Camelina microcarpa, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Carduus acanthoides, C. leiophyllus, C. nutans, Carex colchica, C. distans, C. divisa, C. extensa, Centaurea arenaria ssp. borystenica, C. diffusa, C. orientalis, Centaurium pulchellum, C. spicatum, Cerastium dubium, C. pumilum, C. semidecandrum, C. spicatum, Chenopodium album, C. glaucum, Chondrilla juncea, Cichorium intybus, Cirsium arvensae, Conium maculatum, Conyza canadensis, Convolvulus arvensis, Corispermum nitidum, Coronilla varia, C. scorpioides, Cakile maritima ssp. euxina, Crambe maritima, Crepis foetida ssp. rhoeadifolia, Crypsis aculeata, Cynanchum acutum, Cynodon dactylon, Cyperus flavescens, C. pannonicus, Dactylis glomerata, Datura stramonium, Daucus carota ssp. carota, D. guttatus ssp. zahariadi, Descurainia sophia, Digitaria sanguinalis, Diplotaxis muralis, D. tenuifolia, Echium italicum, E. vulgare, Equisetum arvensae, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Eleocharis palustris, Elymus elongatus ssp. elongatus, E. repens, Eragrostis minor, Erigeron anuus, Erophila verna, Eryssimum diffusum, E. repandum, Erodium cicutarium, E. ciconium, Eryngium 124
maritimum, Eupatorium cannabinum, Euphorbia glareosa, E. helioscopia, E. sequieriana, Festuca arundinacea, F. pratensis, Fumaria officinalis, F. vaillanti, Gagea pratensis, Gallium humifusum, G. mollugo, G. palustre, Geranium pussilum, Glaucium flavum, Gratiola officinalis, Gypsophyla perfoliata, Heliotropium europaeum, Holosteum umbellatum, Hordeum geniculatum, H. murinum, Juncus articulatus, J. compressus, J. gerardi, J. littoralis, Juncus maritimus, Lactuca tatarica, Lamium amplexicaule, L. purpureum, Lappula squarrosa, Lathyrus tuberosus, Lavathera thuringiaca, Leontodon hispidus, Lepidium draba, L. perfoliatum, Limonium meyerii, Linaria genistifolia, Lithospermum arvensae, Lolium perenne, Lotus corniculatus, L. glaber, Leymus sabulosus ssp. racemosus, Lycopus europaeus, Lycopsis arvensis ssp. orientalis, Lythrum salicaria, L. virgatum, Lycopus europaeus, Malva neglecta, M. sylvestris, Marrubium peregrinum, M. vulgare, Matricaria recutita, Melilotus albus, M. officinalis, Medicago falcata, M. lupulina, M. minima, M. orbicularis, M. sativa, Mentha aquatica, M. verticillata, Myosotis arvensis, Nonea pulla, Odontites vernus ssp. serotinus, Oenothera biennis, Onopordum acanthium, O. tauricum, Orchis laxiflora ssp. elegans, Ornithogalum refractum, Papaver dubium, P. rhoeas, Phragmites australis var. australis, P. australis var. humilis, Picris hieracioides, Plantago altissima, P. lanceolata, P. major ssp. major, P. media, P. maritima, P. scabra, Poa annua, P. bulbosa var. vivipara, P. pratensis, Polygonum amphibium, P. arenarium, P. aviculare, P. hydropiper, P. lapathifolium, P. maritimum, P. mesembricum, Polypogon monspeliensis, Portulaca oleracea, Potentilla anserina, P. reptans, Puccinellia distans, Pulicaria dysenterica, Reseda lutea, Rubus caesius, Rumex crispus, R. hydrolapathum, R. maritimus, R. palustris, Salicornia europaea, Salsola kali ssp. ruthenica, Samolus valerandi, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Scirpus bolboschoenus, Scirpus holoschoenus, Sclerochloa dura, Secale sylvestre, Senecio jacobaea, S. vernalis, Seseli tortuosum, Setaria glauca, Silene borystenica, S. conica, S. exaltata, Sisymbrium loeselli, S. orientale, Solanum nigrum, Sonchus arvensis, S. oleraceus, Spergularia media, Stellaria media, Suaeda maritima, Syrenia cana, S. montana, Tamarix ramosissima, T. tetrandra, Taraxacum officinale, Taraxacum serotinum, Teucrium scordium, Thlaspi perfoliatum, Tragopogon dubius, T. floccosus, Tragus racemosus, Tribulus terestris, Trifolium fragiferum, T. repens, Triglochin palustris, Trigonella monspeliaca, Typha angustifolia, T. laxmannii, Urtica dioica, U. urens, Valerianella locusta, Veronica arvensis, V. hederifolia, V. polita, V. cracca, V. vilosa, Xanthium italicum, X. spinosum, X. strumarium, Xeranthemum annuum. The high rate of invasive species within studied area, higher than in other northern seacoast areas (Tab. 1), emphasize a ruderalization process of sea shore plant associations. This situation is a consequence of building works and other economical activities, which are generating offals in the coastal zone between Mamaia and Năvodari (organic offals, building residue, residual waters). 125
Compared seacoast areas Mamaia- Năvodari Cape Midia-Vadu sea shore area Chituc sandbank (seacoast area) littoral taxa (%) 66,41 69,19 77,85 invasive taxa (%) 33,58 30,80 22,14 total taxa 254 162 271 Table 1 The percentage of littoral and invasive plant taxa in some seacoast areas from Romanian Black Sea shore The percentage of invasive plant species within Mamaia-Năvodari sea shore area is higher than those from Cape Midia-Vadu [and Chituc sandbank (part of Danube Delta Biosphere reservation) (Fig. 1), other researched seacoast areas [4, 8, 11, 12], where the anthropic influences are less. In the north of Black Sea shore, the natural vegetation of beaches is good preserved and the littoral species have a higher rate (Fig. 1). 100 90 80 70 60 % 50 40 30 20 10 0 Mamaia- Navodari Cape Midia- Vadu Chituc sandbank invasive species littoral species Figure 1 The rate of littoral and invasive plant species within studied area and other northern seacoast areas The extend of building works (hotels, residential district, rest home) until in proximity of dune habitats, threatens with destruction some dune habitat types of European interest for conservation (embrionic mobile dunes, seacoast fixed dunes - prioritary habitat, the coastal wetlands) and at the same time numerous rare plant species and specific plant communities. The 126
human activities intense in neighbourhood of dune habitats have favoured the excessive development of some weeds and ruderal plants communities, in the same time with psamohalophilous primary vegetation decline. These ominuous aspects are obvious in the researched area, especially in the last three years. Among rare and threatened plant species, which grow between Mamaia and Năvodari, we mention: Cakile maritima ssp. euxina, Crambe maritima, Eryngium maritimum, Polygonum maritimum, Glaucium flavum, Leymus sabulosus ssp. racemosus, Corispermum nitidum, Daucus guttatus ssp. zahariadi, Silene borystenica, Orchis laxiflora ssp. elegans, Centaurium spicatum, Centaurium pulchellum, Samolus valerandi, Polypogon monspeliensis. In the investigated area have been identified the following plant associations: Scirpo- Phragmitetum W. Koch 1926, Typhetum angustifoliae Pignatti 1953, Astero tripolii- Phragmitetum humilis Krisch (1972) 1974, Bolboschoenetum maritimi Eggler 1933, Schoenoplectetum tabernaemontani Soó 1947, Lythro-Calamagrostetum epigei I. Pop 1968, Juncetum gerardi (Warming 1906) Nordh. 1923, Juncetum littoralis Popescu et al. 1992, Juncetum maritimi (Rubel 30) Pign. 1953, Caricetum extensae Br.-Bl. et De L. 1936, Agrostetum ponticae Popescu et Sanda 1973, Hordeetum hystricis (Soó 33) Wendelbg. 1943, Plantaginetum maritimae Rapaics 1927, Puccinellietum distantis Soó 1937, Artemisietum santonici Soó 1947 corr. Guterm. et Mucina, Carici distantis-festucetum arundinaceae Rapaics 1927, Festucetum arundinaceae (Tx. 1937) Nordh. 1940, Atripliceto hastatae-cakiletum euxinae Sanda, Popescu 1999, Crambetum maritimae (I. Şerbănescu 1970) Popescu et al. 1980, Salsolo ruthaenicae-xanthietum strumarii Oberd. et Tx. 1950, Tournefortietum sibiricae Popescu et Sanda 1975, Elymetum gigantei Morariu 1957, Aperetum maritimae Popescu et al. 1978, Bromo-Cynodontetum I. Pop 1970, Secali sylvestris-brometum tectorum Hargitai 1940, Plantaginetum arenariae (Buia et al.1960) Popescu, Sanda, 1987, Carici colchicae- Holoschoenetum vulgaris Ştefan et Sârbu 1995, Holoschoeno-Calamagrostetum epigeios Popescu et Sanda 1978, Tribulo-Tragetum racemosi Soó et Timar 1954, Atriplicetum hastatae Poli et J. Tx.1960, Echio-Melilotetum albi R.Tx. 1947, Descurainetum sophiae Krech 1933 corr. Oberd. 1970, Hordeetum murini Libbert 1932 em. Pass. 1964, Balloto-Malvetum sylvestris Gutte 1966, Artemisio austriacae-poetum bulbosae I. Pop 1970, Onopordetum acanthii Br.-Bl. (1923) 1926, Sclerochloo-Polygonetum avicularis (Gams 1927) Soó 1940, Lepidietum drabae Timar 1950. Conclusions Our researches within Mamaia-Năvodari seacoast area have praise the ruderalization of beaches natural vegetation, on the fund of psamo-halophilous primary vegetation decline. This situation is a consequence of anthropic influences increase in proximity of dune habitats. 127
Among all identified taxa (254 species and subspecies), the rate of invasive species (33,58%) is higher than in other northern seacoast areas (Cape Midia-Vadu and Chituc sandbank), where the anthropic influences are less. The extend of economical activities until in proximity of dune habitats, threatens with extinction some dune habitat types of European interest for conservation and at the same time numerous rare plant species and specific littoral plant communities. As a result of our researches, have been identified, in various types of littoral habitats, 254 plant taxa and 38 plant associations. References 1. CIOCARLAN, V., 1994, Flora Deltei Dunării (Cormophyta), Ed. Ceres, Bucureşti: 115 pp. 2. CIOCÂRLAN, V., 2000, Flora ilustrată a României (Pteridophyta et Spermatophyta), Ed. Ceres, Bucureşti, 1139 pp. 3. FĂGĂRAŞ M., GOMOIU M. T., 2004. The conspectus of vascular flora from Romanian Black Sea shore, Ovidius University Annals of Natural Sciences, Biology-Ecology Series, Constantza, 6 (2002): 1-50. 4. FĂGĂRAŞ M., 2002. Contribuţii la cunoşterea ecologică a florei şi vegetaţiei de la litoralul românesc al Mării Negre. Teza de doctorat. Univ. Ovidius Constanţa, Facultatea de Ştiinţe ale Naturii, Constanţa: 258 pp+25 anexe. 5. POPESCU A., SANDA V., 1972. Investigations on the vegetation of maritime sands between Mamaia and Navodari, Revue roum. de Biolog., Serie de Botanique, 17, 2: 99-111. 6. POPESCU A., SANDA V., 1973. Cercetări asupra vegetaţiei litoralului dintre Mamaia şi Năvodari, Studii şi Cercet. de Biol., Ser. Botanică, 25, 2: 113-130. 7. POPESCU A., SANDA V., 1975. Etudés sur la vegétation du littoral de la Mer Noire entre Mamaia et le Cap Midia, Revue Roum. de Biol., Ser. de Botanique, 20, 1: 7-17. 8. POPESCU V., 1969. Contribuţii la cunoaşterea florei şi vegetaţiei Capului Midia, Inst. Agron. Dr. P. Groza, Cluj-Napoca: 77-80. 9. SANDA, V., POPESCU, A., BARABAS, N., 1998. Cenotaxonomia şi caracterizarea grupărilor vegetale din România, Complexul Muz. de Şt. Nat. Bacău, Studii si Comunicări, Biologie vegetală, 14: 5-366. 10. SANDA V., 2002. Vademecum ceno-structural privind covorul vegetal din România, Ed. Vergiliu, Bucureşti: 331 pp. 11. SARBU, I., ŞTEFAN, N., HANGANU, J., COROI, M., GRIDIU, M., 1995a. Vegetaţia de pe grindul Chituc (Rezervaţia Biosferei Delta Dunării), Bul. Grăd. Bot. Iaşi, 5: 213-230. 12. SARBU I., ŞTEFAN N., HANGANU J., GRIDIU M., COROI M., 1995b. Vegetaţia de pe grindul Chituc în corelaţie cu tipul de substrat, ICPDD Tulcea, Analele Şt. ale Inst. Delta Dunării, 4, 1: 201-203. 13. SAVULESCU, Tr. (eds), 1952-1976, Flora R.P.R R.S.R., I XIII, Ed. Acad. Române, Bucureşti. 14. TUTIN T.G. HEYWOOD V.H., BURGES N.A., MOORE D.M., VALENTINE D.H., WALTERS S.M. & WEBB D.A. (eds), 1964-1980. Flora Europaea, Vols. 1-5, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 15. TUTIN T.G., BURGES N.A., CHATER A.O., EDMONSON J.R., HEYWOOD V.H., MOORE D.M., VALENTINE D.H., WALTERS S.M. & WEBB D.A. (eds., assist. by J.R.Akeroyd & Newton M.E.; appendices ed. by Mill R.R.), 1993 (reprinted 1996). Flora Europaea, 2 nd ed., Vol. 1, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. *** Bern Convention, Appendix I, 2002. *** Directiva Consiliului Europei nr. 92/43/EEC din 21 mai 1992 privind conservarea habitatelor naturale, a faunei şi florei sălbatice (Directiva Habitate), Anexa I. 128